TRANSCRIPT COSTS IN THE UNITED STATES VS. TSARNAEV TRIAL

The article posted by Hilary Sargent on Boston.com on March 10, 2015, titled “You Could Buy the Tsarnaev Trial Transcript.  Or You Could Buy a Range Rover” raised the ire of court reporters across the Commonwealth.  Ms. Sargent focuses on the high cost of obtaining the trial transcript but not on the skill required to produce one.

Yes, the transcript is expensive.  Any product of value is.  Transcripts cannot be produced by a lay person.  It requires a unique skill that only a certified professional court reporter can provide. 

Imagine if you were responsible for writing on a machine every word uttered verbatim during this trial, and who said it, hour after hour, day after day, for an estimated 68 days of trial.  Imagine the concentration skills required to write, almost error free, approximately 225 pages per day, or approximately 15,300 pages by trial’s end.  Imagine the added pressure a trial of this magnitude presents.  This is not counting the hours spent in preparation before the trial or editing time after the court has adjourned for the day.        

Marcia Patrisso, the court reporter responsible for this trial, has earned two of the  National Court Reporters Association’s most coveted credentials, credentials attained by only a small minority of her peers:  the Registered Merit Reporter and Certified Realtime Reporter designations.  A Registered Merit Reporter can write at speeds of 260 words per minute with 95 percent accuracy, and a Certified Realtime Reporter can produce an unedited transcript in realtime with 96 percent accuracy.  Ms. Patrisso has proven her ability through testing, certification, and experience.  She has invested in her education, software, and equipment, at her own expense, so that she can perform the duties required of her.  She has earned her place in the courtroom.

Owning a Range Rover sure sounds appealing, especially considering the historic winter we’ve just endured; however, it can’t compare to the value verbatim transcripts provide to litigants, lawyers, and judges in courtrooms across the country, transcripts prepared by certified court reporters, guardians of the record.

Connie Psaros, RPR
Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc.